Category Archives: Entrepreneurship

7 Ways to Help Women in Technology

July 19, 2011 – 11:04 am
women and technology

This weekend, I came across two articles that made me step back for a moment. The first was the Wall Street Journal’s blog post, “Addressing The Lack of Women Leading Tech Start-ups.” In the post, WSJ tries to address the question of “Where are all the women in tech?” They mention that there is no shortage of opinions about the issue but the core of the article isn’t really being addressed. It must be noted overall that equality has come a long way even in the short time that I have been in the professional world. Where the disparity seems to be is why there are so few women in the technology industry. The next article I came across was a TechCrunch response by Michael Arrington entitled, “ Too Few Women In Tech? Stop Blaming The Men.” In the article, Arrington tries to sympathize with the issue but is fed up with the blame game. Can you blame him? I don’t. Below is an infograph compiled by Socialcast.com that looks at a number of dimensions in the technology industry comparing male vs female ratios. A few key insights: According to Dow Jones VentureSource, 11% of U.S. firms with venture-capital backing in 2009 [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Also posted in Business Tools, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (6)

How to Breed a Team of Innovators

July 13, 2011 – 12:01 pm
innovation-island-building

It’s been several months since the Our Revolution road trip, but the experience has stayed with me and often finds its way into my conversations with others. Although Our Revolution is about promoting social change with revolutionary ideas and actions to change perceptions in lives in communities, my friend Lucas asked me an intriguing question – “How did the experience change you?” I have to say that in retrospect, one of the most important takeaways I have from the road trip was an improved technique for coming up with innovative solutions. The technique is similar to what Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, says, “We run the company by questions, not answers.” Innovation does not spring up out of nowhere. Innovative solutions and answers come first by asking the right questions.  The Our Revolution road trip was full of questions that needed answers. How can we improve a situation? And when you ask a question, it stimulates conversation. It is out of these conversations that come innovation. To stimulate innovation within your team, you need to create a culture of questioning. Here’s how: 1. Set an Example – The behavior of team members always gravitates to the behavior of their leaders. [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Also posted in Business Tools, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

How to Freelance

July 6, 2011 – 9:44 am
how to freelance workfree work free

“If I had seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” -Issac Newton I’ve been down in D.C. for the week and have met a ton of interesting people, many of which are freelancers who are trying to build their businesses. Each of them wanted to know how what secrets I had for them. I have no secrets (expect be prepare to work your butt off and love it), but I can share what I have learned. Here are some items on How to Freelance: I. Fuel : Why Drinking Coffee is Great for You Before you begin, make sure you are energize and ready to take on the world.  Here is a few reasons why coffee is a great way to start you day and get you ready to build your business. To read the article, click here. II.  The Idea: How to Start a Million Dollar Business Every business, even a freelance one starts with an idea. Here are a few ways to find that idea and start a million dollar business. To read the article, click here. III. Freelancer Toolkit: 201+ Amazing Tools and Resources for the Freelancer Every freelancer and small [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Also posted in Business Tools, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

How to Start a Million Dollar Business

May 13, 2011 – 9:23 am
start a million dollar business spark and hustle ja-nae

Yesterday I spoke at Spark and Hustle, on “No Money, No Excuse.” I love when I can share with people tips and resources that are in “How to Start Your Business with $100” and even my personal story. For example, I was on a Skype call yesterday while one of my coaching clients. He knows that I advise companies on open innovation and sustainability, but he wanted to know the million dollar question: How can a person start a million dollar business? At least he got right to the point!  But this is a good question that I encourage people to ask bluntly.  While creating a million dollar business is not easy, I believe starting a million dollar business is easier than most people think.  If you just have a great idea and a willingness to start, then you’re further along than most potential millionaires will ever get.  So, here are some of my best tips for anyone who is ready and willing to start a million dollar business: Actually Make an Attempt.  Groupon.com was started by a guy in his basement a couple years ago.  Recently, Google offered to buy the company for billions of dollars.  Many reactions to [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Also posted in Business Tools, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

How to Receive a College Education Online for Free

May 6, 2011 – 11:55 am
free online education janae the freelancer lifestyle design

Education is what you make of it. We are perpetual students, learning something new everyday. It doesn’t matter if you spend four years in college (and $200K) or time talking to someone in a coffee shop. We are constantly learning. With college tuition being as costly as it is, I know many people looking for alternative ways to continue to learn and expand their skill set. Look at any entrepreneur or historical figure and you will see that continuous self-education is a major component to their lives. Here are some free online courses from some of the top universities: Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative (my alma mater) – No instructors, no credits, no charge. Use these self-guiding Carnegie Mellon materials and activities to learn at your own pace. MIT OpenCourseWare – MIT OpenCourseWare is a free web-based publication of MIT course materials that has some of the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT. MIT Sloan School of Management – As one of the top business schools in the US, this is a great subsection of the larger MIT OpenCourseWare site. Tufts OpenCourseWare – Tufts OpenCourseWare is part of a new educational movement. Khan Academy – Over 1200 videos lessons [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Also posted in Creativity, Innovation, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

How to Recognize Opportunity

May 5, 2011 – 10:20 am
opportunity the freelancer janae lifestyle design

I have known Sam for years. But I also haven’t seen him in awhile, so getting together for a cup of coffee sounded great to me. Sam is getting his MBA at a well-known institution in Cambridge (there are really only two choices, so I will let you decide which one you think he goes to). He was walking me through the curriculum when I asked, “What is the objective of most of these classes?” He looked at me like I had four heads and responded, “To solve problems, of course.” That’s when it occurred to me that this program (and many MBA programs) has it all wrong. Life and in this case, business, isn’t about just solving problems. It is about recognizing opportunities. Those opportunities can come in many forms: some are where to present change and innovations. Some opportunities allow us to capitalize on a system that is currently working and integrate it into other areas or create derivatives of that model. That was why part of the Our Revolution team went on the road: to find the models that were working and share them with the world, so others could use them. Not everything is broken. There [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Also posted in Business Tools, Innovation, Marketing, Our Revolution! Project, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

It’s Obvious

May 4, 2011 – 11:23 am
it's obvious janae the freelancer lifestyle design

Jeff was looking for his glasses…again. This was the 3rd time this week. He had to find them and find them quickly because he was going to be late for a meeting. So, the search was on. He went through everything on his desk. He searched through his bags, tore up the living room, his bedroom and to no avail. “My jacket!” They must be in my jacket.” he scurried his way to the black jacket hanging there on the coat rack. He turned every pocket inside out. Jeff even shook the jacket. Nothing. After about forty-five minutes of searching, Jeff sulked down onto the couch furious with himself. As he glanced through the window, he caught something within the reflection. He saw a little glimmer from atop his head. He slowly reached up and realized that what he has been searching for had been with him the entire time. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Most of the time, the answers we are looking for are right in front of us or within us. Keeping your eyes, ears and minds open to what is around you can help you find the resources you need or the [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Also posted in Business Tools, Creativity, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

How to Be the Change You Wish to See In the World

May 3, 2011 – 12:20 pm

Every choice that you make impacts not only you, but others. Some you know and some you don’t know. How do you make the right choices? How can one person empower others to make a positive change; to turn ones life around and be the change they wish to see in the world. Last week, I spoke on Creating Revolutions: How to Be the Change You Wish to See to the South Shore Women’s Business Network (great group). Here is the video of my talk. Check it out: Are you ready for YOUR Revolution? Tell me about what you’re doing. Tell me how you’re changing the world. Create a video, entitle it “It’s MY Revolution!” and post the link within the comments of this blog or on my Facebook page. I will then post videos that I see in an upcoming blog post. Cannot Wait to Hear from you! Related Posts: The Power of Vulnerability Why I Started Our Revolution Creating Revolutions, Reinventing a City, and My Story The Revolution: 7+ Things To Learn from Tunisia, Egypt, and Iran

By Ja-Naé Duane | Also posted in Business Tools, Our Revolution! Project, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

How to Successfully Create a New Habit

May 2, 2011 – 8:04 am
creating good habits creating new habits janae

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts the other night and there was a discussion whether aptitude or attitude was more important in defining individual success.   I believe attitude is far more important than aptitude.  All the talent, knowledge, and skill in the world will not make someone a success in life if they do not learn how to apply it productively.  I believe those of us who do reach our dreams are usually just the people who have accumulated the best habits. Humans are creatures of habit.  Our bodies and minds want us to be stuck in a comfortable routine of homeostasis.  Subconsciously, your inner self is thinking only about survival and not about success, “I’ve survived this far doing what I’ve always done, so changing can only risk danger.” So picking up a new habit or getting rid of an old one is a lot harder than we think.  We subconsciously fight against such change.  But the ability to form new habits is ultimately the key to success, so I want to share these 6 habit-forming steps with you: 1.       Do it for 30 Days – The common consensus is that it takes about 21 [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Also posted in Business Tools, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

How to Write Two Books in One Year

April 29, 2011 – 10:45 am
productivity 101 the freelancer janae

People often tell me I’m a busy woman.  But we’re all busy, right?  Everyone has to contend with finding time outside of their jobs, families, health, social obligations, and a ton of other responsibilities.  So when I mentioned to a new acquaintance that I am in the midst of writing two books (“How to Create a Revolution” and “The Expanded Edition:  How to Start Your Business with $100”), working on the Our Revolution Project, and composing an opera for the 140 Characters Conference, they ask me how I could possibly do all that.  What can I say? I am all about effective productivity. There are a ton of things that I do and want to do, but still need and want my free time. Here is a list of tools and resources that I use to be productive: Time Management Tools: Are are some of my favorite tools that you can use to help save time. 1.       Evernote – Whether you are working on a big project or just need a place to organize your upcoming blog posts, Evernote is what I would recommend. The platform (and its Iphone app) are incredibly easy to use and allows [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Also posted in Business Tools, Our Revolution! Project, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)